


to remain by her side

by WattStalf



Series: Edeleth Week 2k19 [3]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Drabble, F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-11-15 09:40:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20864117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WattStalf/pseuds/WattStalf
Summary: Edelgard has a crush.





	to remain by her side

When they first meet, it’s hard to deny the initial attraction, something that Edelgard had been previously been certain that she outgrew before ever experiencing. But when Byleth saves her life, throwing herself between her and the bandit and fighting him off without breaking a sweat, she can’t look away, and she is overwhelmed by how beautiful someone can be when behaving so ruthlessly.

She knows that she has no time for such things, but these thoughts linger as they make their way back to the monastery, and she bickers with Claude and Dimitri over whose homeland this mercenary could better serve, all without asking her employer- and father- if she’s even available for work right now. Of course, that all falls apart when she’s hired on at the monastery, but it’s a nice idea in theory.

Despite herself, Edelgard is excited when Byleth is appointed a professor, given her choice of a class to oversee, and selects the Black Eagle house. She knows that there’s something strange about her, and wonders about her connection to the archbishop, but the lingering attraction from before clouds her judgment just enough to allow her to be happy to get to work more with the mercenary.

Byleth takes on the difficult task of teaching the Black Eagles, somehow managing to reign in even the most difficult of them, and focusing on their specialties to help them achieve their goals over time. Even Hubert begins to take a shine to her, though he waits for Edelgard’s permission to even look at the professor with anything less than disdain- she’s tried to tell him that he can be  _ nice _ to people sometimes, but nice isn’t in his nature, so perhaps she’s expecting too much from him.

Whatever the case, Byleth fits in well, and though Edelgard keeps her secrets, moving forward with her plans behind the scenes, the two grow close anyway, a friendship developing that Edelgard comes to value. She has to observe the professor for a number of reasons, mostly relating to her plans and ambitions, but there is a part of her that just enjoys observing her, always happy to be close to her.

It’s the first time she’s had a crush on somebody. Why did it have to be someone she’s doomed to grow apart from?

But she never lets herself drift away, even as she grows closer to the point when she must go her own way. The closest she gets to putting distance between her is not knowing how to comfort her when she witnesses one of her so-called allies end Byleth’s father’s life. She understands her teacher’s grief all too well, but she knows she has no right to offer any real comfort, only doing what she can to spur her back to action.

And back to action she returns, her thirst for vengeance something that Edelgard can understand and is all too eager to assist in. Things only grow more complicated from there; for a moment, she thinks she’s lost her and then she’s returned, with a power that they can’t hope to understand, and one that Edelgard knows she shouldn’t hope to try and harness.

Byleth has played directly into the archbishop’s hand, more than likely. Supposedly, she’s been gifted with the powers of the goddess. There isn’t a moment to waste before the war begins, and she’s sure that she and her teacher are destined to be on opposing sides.

She is nearing the end, and still her little crush lingers, and she dreads the moment when she will finally have to admit that this has become something more than a crush. They will have to go their separate ways soon, but just before she puts her true plan into action, she decides to give Byleth a choice. She gives her one chance to remain by her side.

**Author's Note:**

> If you're interested in my writing updates, please follow my fanfiction twitter @WattStalf  



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